


Caramel Macchiato

by PetalsToFish



Series: Alternate Universe Jily (Muggle) [13]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-06
Updated: 2017-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-21 16:33:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30024630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PetalsToFish/pseuds/PetalsToFish
Summary: From the minute Dr. Lily Evans saw James Potter in the coffee shop, she knew she was in trouble. When he was placed as a shadow at the children's ward, she was forced to watch him be amazing with her sick kids and damn, if he didn't go from 20 to 100 on the attractive scale in ten hot seconds. Then she saw his tattoos, and suddenly she hated the hospital's tattoo policy more than anything else.
Relationships: James Potter & Lily Evans Potter, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Series: Alternate Universe Jily (Muggle) [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2199825
Comments: 3
Kudos: 36





	Caramel Macchiato

James was terrible at studying at the coffee shop. He'd settled into one of the coffee shop's many chairs and (honestly) was looking for any excuse to stare at something other than obese human anatomy. That's when she walked through the door laughing into her cell phone as she shook white snow from her hair. Immediately, his anatomy book could hold nothing to her smile, which quirked playfully like a renaissance artist had painted it on. James didn't want to disclose to anyone that he only studied at the café in the mornings at the coffee shop to simply see her, but it was a rather large contributing factor to his actions.

The pretty woman was an easy distraction, one that James boldly took advantage of. She always smiled and waved at James as she passed each morning. Sometimes she was chewing on a warm bagel, but she always ordered a caramel macchiato, no matter the time or weather. It was always a quick distraction, interaction with her never lasted more than a minute, but he welcomed her presence every morning.

James went three months without his best friend Sirius finding him out, and then (finally) James' snapchat gave away his location. It was all over once his sanctuary was discovered. Sirius stopped by halfway through James' final review for class and ordered two coffees to go, expecting it to take him no time at all to get James to abandon his studies. There was a reason Sirius barely made it through pre-med; mainly that he didn't have the attention span. Sirius was smart, but he had no patience.

"What the _Hell_ , James," Sirius moaned after fifteen minutes of James not budging, slamming the booklet shut, "you can't seriously be having fun."

"If I wanted to have fun, I would've never gone to med school."

James yawned, looking up from reading the term _hemorrhaging_ for the seventh time that hour. Sirius was leaning back in his seat, feet on the chair opposite him. James adjusted the square shaped frames on his face as he blinked rapidly to let his eyes go from memorizing words to memorizing the familiar look of disappointment on his best friends face. Sirius hated sitting still for too long and since it was finals week, James was sitting entirely too long for Sirius' liking.

"I've got to study mate," James reminded Sirius, "I start my internship tomorrow at the Hospital, I've got three finals for Uni, and I've barely memorized half my practical booklet."

"Since when did you become a bore?"

Sirius turned his head so he could look out the large paneled glass wall that looked out to the rest of the hospital. More workers were arriving, as it was eight in the morning. Sirius cleared his throat at least ten times in the next half hour. The old woman who ran the small shop kept glaring over at Sirius, who was ruining the quiet atmosphere.

"James." Sirius said earnestly after his second coffee, "Your practical is in _three_ days, that's plenty of time to study."

"Are you insane?" asked James, "I know _you_ dropped out of medical school after three months but you can't tell me you don't remember how hard this is?"

"Yeah it's hard," Sirius agreed, "but you don't need to study, you're top of the class. You've got this."

"Either shut up and grab me another coffee or get out of here Sirius." James said, a hint of warning in his voice.

Sirius grumbled but did as he was told, ordering them both another coffee. Sirius lasted another twenty minutes before he finally gave up and left but not before smacking James up the side of the head. James rolled his eyes at his friend but didn't look up from his pages. The words were echoing back in his mind as he read. James struggled to retain the information because he wanted to do well on his test and impress the doctor he'd be shadowing in the future.

In school James specialized in surgery so he assumed he'd be shadowing a surgical doctor. James would be fucked if he were set up to shadow anything other than surgery because that was his primary focus and he didn't know if he could learn anything else. James was reading up on phlebotomies while drinking his fourth cup of coffee when he caught a familiar sound in his left ear.

"I'm the late shift today. Thomas Burns is getting another check up."

Sneakily, his hazel eyes lifted from his book to the woman standing by the counter. She was wearing a dark blue sweater today and her memorable red hair was drawn up into a tight bun that sent the impression that she was uptight. James knew that her gentle face deflected the consideration immediately. She was talking to the old lady that ran the coffee shop, complaining about having to come in later than normal.

The old woman called her _Lily_ affectionately and James knew from their conversations that Lily was a pediatrician at the hospital James would be shadowing. He assumed she liked music, as she often had one ear bud in her left ear when she entered the shop from the outside. Sometimes she carried a thick book in her arms so he knew she read for fun. James didn't know much else about the woman except that she came into the coffee shop every day before her shift and ordered a caramel macchiato.

If James were telling himself any sort of the truth—he'd admit that he came to the coffee shop simply to see her. They always shared smiles when she passed by his table with her macchiato, but he still hadn't gotten the nerves to say anything to her. She was the type of gorgeous that most people deemed angelic. Her sharp green eyes always met James with interest and struck him dumb in seconds.

Even today, when he glanced up, her green eyes were considering him from the counter. James let his eyes flutter across her face for longer than necessary and the green in her eyes shifted when he didn't look away like he typically did. Lily leaned against the counter and nodded at the book in his hands.

"You like to read here a lot," she said casually.

James swallowed before acknowledging, "yeah, it's quieter than the Uni library."

Lily was handed her macchiato. She placed a bit of money on the counter for the old woman before waltzing his way. His heart started thumping as her green eyes gazed at him coyly. Between her obsession for caramel macchiatos and staring at James, he should've emitted himself into the hospital for irregular heart rhythms the minute Lily showed up in the coffee shop. James held his breath as Lily glanced over his shoulder and winced at the words she saw printed on the book pages. James couldn't believe she'd spoken more than three words to him. He was thankful Sirius had left now more than ever, he was defenseless in her presence.

"Ugh, I remember that book," she said understatedly, "I am so sorry."

"You want to spoil the ending?" he asked cheekily, "I'm over reading it."

The woman giggled, a sound that warmed the air around them. She seemed intrigued by him and she fascinated James. Lily took Sirius' long abandoned seat, crossing her legs casually. Up close, he could see a slight pattern of freckles across her collarbone under the deep-v cut of her sweater. Lily's eyes had circles under them and her fingernails were painted red, a stark contrast to her blue sweater.

"You're a medical student then?" She presumed.

James ruffled his black hair nervously; "You wouldn't find me reading _The Atlas of Anatomy for Surgery_ for fun on a weekend, normally."

Lily put her chin in her hands and beamed at him jokingly, "shame, I do fancy a bloke who likes to read anatomical records for fun."

James pushed the book away, "I'm afraid I'm more of a Ernest Hemingway, _A Call To Arms_ , chap."

" _A Call to Arms_?" Lily sounded surprised and looked generally suspicious of James, "you've got to be joking, that was one of the _worst_ books I was forced to read in University."

"Even over _The Atlas of Human Anatomy_?" James teased.

"Definitely." Lily replied, " _A Call to Arms_ was drastically inaccurate in medical terms."

James said, "To be honest, between reading about factual hemorrhaging in the _Atlas of Anatomy for Surgery_ or fictional hemorrhaging in _A Call to Arms_ …I'd always pick fictional."

"And yet you're a medical student?" she took a sip of her macchiato.

"My fall back career, I'm afraid." He sighed theatrically, "my parents cut me off when I told them I wanted to be a stay-at-home son."

"Mummy and daddy wouldn't let you become a rock star?"

"Life just isn't fair."

She clucked her tongue, eyes sparking as she quipped, "hair modeling wasn't working out for you either?"

James self-consciously dropped his hand from his hair, not noticing he was ruffling the messy strands again. She laughed and shook her head at his sheepish expression.

"I was joking." She told him, "you just mess with your hair a lot. It looks like you jump out of a airplane regularly."

"I'm a professional skydiver."

"I can tell."

"I broke my back after my last jump and can't skydive anymore, so I took up med school for fun..."

Lily blinked owlishly at him, as if wondering if he was joking or being serious. James prided himself in that it was hard for someone to understand what came out of his mouth was sarcasm and what was truth. James decided to give Lily a break, but only because they'd just met.

"I'm joking."

"Obviously." She was smiling again, "No one takes up medical school for fun."

He told her, "I've wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember."

Lily rolled her eyes and hid her smile by taking another sip of her coffee. James glanced back down at his book, not believing that he and the endearing pediatrician were having an _actual_ conversation. It might've been a conversation about hemorrhaging and failed fictional careers of course, _but it was a conversation_ none-the-less. James wondered what had made her finally sit down with him after all the months of just smiles.

When James looked back up at Lily she was watching him intensely. Her red lips were slightly parted and she had a curious expression on her sweet face. Alarmed at being caught staring, she looked down at her hands coyly.

James stuck out his hand to her, "I'm James."

Lily stuck out her hand to meet his, "Lily." She replied kindly, "I work in the children's ward."

James decided to forgo telling her that he already knew that fact, "How long have you worked here?"

"About a year." She said, "I graduated last spring and got hired a little bit after that."

James couldn't help asking, "Do you still like it?"

Lily smiled secretively, "Depends on the day." she told him honestly, "I'm not a fan of everyone that I work with but I _do_ love the kids. They make you feel like you're Wonder Woman, you know?"

"Not really." Said James, "I haven't worked with kids before."

"Really?" Lily wrapped her hands around her cup thoughtfully; "You seem like the type who'd love working with kids."

"What gives you that idea?" he asked.

Lily flushed, "Well for one you're rather goofy..."

James couldn't resist the arrogant smirk that fluttered across his face, "Thanks."

Lily's cheeks only got redder and she glanced at her hands. "Anyways," she seemed to be controlling her tone to keep it even, "what made you pick this coffee shop for early morning studying?"

James closed his long forgotten book, using it as a prop for his arms as he talked, "I found it while signing up for shadow days a few months ago."

Her interest perked up and her eyes met his excitedly.

"You're shadowing _here_?" she asked wonderingly, "Do you know who?"

James shrugged, "I asked to follow one of the primary surgeons around, that's kind of what I've been studying the last four years."

"Oh," she seemed disenchanted, "Yeah, that's cool."

James chewed on his bottom lip as she played with her cup. He didn't have any interest in being a pediatrician but suddenly, with Lily looking dissatisfied, he wondered if he'd made a horrible mistake. Lily took another sip of her drink. James stared at the table between them wondering how long it would take to ask for a few shadow days in another area of the hospital.

"What do you love about pediatrics?" he asked her with interest.

"The kids," she said happily, "Even the sickest of them have the greatest outlooks in love and life."

"How sick?" James asked.

Lily tilted her head at him, "sicker than half the seventy year olds that wheel into the surgery ward everyday."

"So it's never boring then?"

"Never," she smiled like she was telling a secret, "on Fridays we wear costumes."

"Wicked." He said, "What's your go-to?"

Lily leaned forward in her seat with a playful grin, "the kids like when I dress up like Ariel in _The Little Mermaid_."

"Impressive," James grinned back at her, "I can see it."

"It's the red hair, huh?" she sighed wittily.

"Nah," he winked, "definitely not."

"Maybe," her tone was hopeful, "You could consider a day in pediatrics?"

James looked up to see a shy but suggestive smile on her face.

"Maybe." He adjusted the glasses on his face, "Are you trying to convert me?"

"I just think you might find pediatrics a _bit_ more exciting than boring old surgery."

James rolled his eyes, "Sure, if exciting means being bitten by a weirdo three year old in an Iron Man costume."

Lily brushed his shoulder with her outstretched hand, "You forgot all the sticky fingers and Disney sing-a-longs."

James swallowed when her fingers left his shoulders, "sounds horrible."

"Nah," she purred, "It's not _too_ bad, normally the sticky fingers are just from making popsicle stick houses."

"Popsicle stick houses?" he snorted in disbelief, "do you run a summer camp?"

"Better than summer camp," Lily said forcefully, "there's no bugs or snakes…unless you count the other Doctor in the ward…but he's a snake I can handle."

James had a feeling Lily could handle anything.

"Do you often compare you coworkers to snakes?" James asked.

Lily grinned wickedly, "only the ones I don't like."

"Remind me to stay on your good side."

"You're _already_ on my good side."

"Maybe I'll consider it. Shadowing pediatrics, I mean." He said warmly, "but I'd have to convince my mentors."

Lily hitched her bag up her shoulder and waved goodbye to James with her free hand not holding coffee, "I'll see what strings I can pull for you James."

About a week later and James was elbow deep in an autopsy of an elderly woman who smelled like low tide. He had been on his own most of the week but now that he was officially graduated, his mentor only watched every once in a while. The Doctor instructing James' life, Dr. Moody, was growling instructions as James examined all the major organs for failure. The harsh surgery lights were blinding against James' glasses. James' sleeves were covered in blood and he knew he'd have to scrub his arms well later.

"Tomorrow we have two open heart surgeries." Moody said suddenly and a breath of disappointment filled the room.

Open-heart surgeries weren't fun and two sounded like a surefire way to the pub after work. James glanced at his assistant and fellow Doctor in training, Frank, disparagingly.

"Potter."

James picked up the blackened liver before glancing at Doctor Moody, "yeah?"

"You're scheduled with Dr. Evans tomorrow."

James furrowed his brow, not recognizing the name, "Why?"

"Dr. Evans requested you, that's why." Mood barked, "You'll be expected to get to pediatrics at seven in the morning, promptly."

"Pediatrics?"

James only knew of one person who worked in pediatrics and it was the woman with the red hair from the coffee shop. James wondered if Lily and Dr. Evans were the same person and if they were, had she _really_ requested him? James hadn't made it to the coffee shop in the last few days; he was working such long days. Even still, a part of him hoped that she'd pulled a few strings just so he could see her smile again.

James got to the pediatrics ward a half before seven, a premeditated caramel macchiato in his hand. He was rewarded when Lily's red hair appeared from around the corner, wrapped in braids on her head. She was wearing a white coat over jeans and a pretty white sweater. Her face lit up when she saw him standing there in a button down shirt and khakis. Pediatrics was _much_ more wardrobe friendly than surgery.

Perks already, in James' opinion.

"Morning." James passed Lily the coffee and she beamed even more.

"I can get used to this," she hummed, taking a sip from the drink before winking at him, "trying to appease to my better side so I give you good ratings for your shadow day?"

"You caught me," James said guiltily.

Lily laughed as she unlocked the door that led into the pediatrics ward. He followed her into a small waiting room covered in children's toys, half asleep parents, some crying kids, and a front desk with a woman in red. A Disney movie with cartoon apes was already playing on the tellie but no one was watching. The woman at the front desk smiled thankfully when she spotted Lily.

"Morning Dr. Evans."

"Morning Marley." Lily said to the woman happily, "is my first appointment at seven thirty?"

"Yup, Anita Patrick." Marley nodded before eyeing James behind Lily, "Hello."

James was taken aback by Marlene's improper tone and he glanced at Lily who was laughing. A few of the parents looked up at the sound, their eyes tired and confused. James was used to surgery, where family members didn't have a waiting room. He spotted a row of curtained rooms along the hall. He wondered how many kids were spending nights at the Hospital.

"James, Marlene. Marlene this is James. He's shadowing me for the day."

"Can he shadow forever?" Marlene bit the edge of her pen hungrily.

Lily grunted, "you're married."

"It's an open relationship!"

James watched Lily and Marlene share a special look that he couldn't decipher but Marlene's jaw dropped when her eyes caught him again. James was even more startled when Lily took his hand and dragged him behind the counters to the back before Marlene could say anything else. There was a set of offices behind Marlene's desk. They were all closed save for one.

"Sorry about her," Lily muttered while dropping his hand, "Marley doesn't get much social interactions beyond that desk."

"Married to her job?" James quipped.

Lily laughed, "no, she's actually married to the optometrist on level six."

Lily led him into her office, a swanky white walled room covered in pictures of Lily and her friends. It seemed Lily enjoyed hiking; there were many pictures of her atop mountains. Lily's desk was covered in files and her computer was flashing more photos, mostly of a cat with black fur.

"Nice cat." James broke the silence.

Lily placed her bag on her desk alongside the caramel macchiato, "her name is Sassy."

"Sassy?" James snorted and Lily shot him a look.

"I named her after the cat in _Homeward Bound_."

"That's a horrible movie."

"I didn't ask for your opinion."

"But I gave it to you."

Lily rolled her eyes and pulled out a file from her desk, shoving it at James.

"This is Anita's file, make sure you read it all."

James opened the file and stared at Anita Patrick's medical history. She was a ten year old and needed a physical done for school according to her chart. Nothing was super crazy in the chart, but James assumed Lily was starting him off easy.

"So we just do a physical and that's it?" he muttered.

"Yeah something like that." Lily hummed as she checked her email.

A half hour later they made their way to the room where Anita and her mother were both waiting. Anita's mother greeted Lily warmly, grey eyes glistening. Anita, dressed in leggings and a sparkly leotard, stared at James from beside Lily. James hadn't had much interaction with children, save for playing with his cousin Nymphadora. He wasn't sure how to initiate conversation.

"Morning Anita."

Lily was a natural, she swooped in to high five Anita's hand. Then Lily admired the braids on Anita's head, tight and plastered to her skull. Lily compared her braids with Anita, saying kindly that she wished she had Anita's thick hair. James awkwardly stood behind them, not sure how to contribute. All the patients he dealt with in surgery were passed out (or dead).

"Who is he?" Anita stared at James, finally.

Lily glanced back at James straightforwardly, "This is Dr. James, and he's going to be helping me today."

"Hey." James waved gawkily at Anita.

Lily did most of the talking and James could tell she was passionate about every kid they crossed. She made parents feel at ease about medications she prescribed. Lily kept little pieces of candy in her pockets to surprise the kids with after their check ups. She helped pull a loose tooth from a six-year-old ninja. James was in awe by her easiness around the many kids they assisted that day.

When the day was half over Lily invited him back to her office to talk over a pack of sandwich's she'd nicked from the cafe. James told her about his time in school and about his mates. Lily talked a bit about her cat and how she lived with Marley and Marley's wife downtown. Lily was going over her favorite kids at the Hospital when Marlene appeared halfway through.

"Thomas Burns is conscious, Lily." Marlene said, "Dr. Snape told me you'd requested to handle Thomas' case from now on."

"Give me three seconds." Lily told Marlene, dropping her sandwich on the papers on her desk.

Lily glanced at James, "want to try your own appointment?"

"Er."

"You'll be fine," she guaranteed him, "here's Thomas' file."

James flipped open the file as he followed Lily to one of the curtained rooms in the back of the ward. Thomas was seven and had leukemia. James' eyes shot up to Lily's in revelation. She was gauging his reaction with calculated eyes. It said on Thomas' chart that chemotherapy had stopped working. He had a month to live. Lily's curvy handwriting noted that Thomas wanted to be an aerospace pilot and _Dreamflight_ was trying to get an astronaut to visit him next week.

"He's only seven," James croaked, "and he's dying?"

Lily shrugged, "you said yourself, life isn't fair."

James struggled to walk into the room. The curtain leading into Thomas' permanent bed had glow in the dark stars stuck to it. Inside, James could hear a voice exclaiming enthusiastically. It was Lily's slight push at his shoulder that made James clear his throat and enter the room.

Thomas sat atop the bed; mattress crinkling as he moved back and forth as if there was too much energy in him to sit still. Thomas wore a red shirt and blue pants patterned with stars. It was the hat on Thomas' head that made a smile appear on James face. The blue hat was stitched with the Lester Football logo.

"Lester, eh?" James stuck his hand out to the little boy who inspected James.

"Who're you?" Thomas asked.

"Name's James." James sat down next to the boy, shocking him, "How are you feeling today?"

"I'm sorry," a woman with tight pin curls and dark eyes stood up beside Thomas' bed, frowning at James, "I don't believe we've met?"

James flushed, sticking out his hand to Thomas' mother, "I'm Dr. James. I'm helping out for the day."

"James is going to do your check up, Tommy." Lily spoke up from where she stood by the rustling curtain.

"Dr. Evans," the mother looked relieved at Lily's appearance and James was secretly reassured too.

Tommy had a big smile pointed at James, "do _you_ like Lester Football too?"

"Love it." James told the little boy, eyeing the circles under his eyes and the pallid tinge to his tiny hands. "My favorite player is Bass."

"The goalie?" For a boy who was sick, he had an energy about him that had James forgetting his nerves. "He's the _worst_ player."

"Goalie is the most important role," James argued as he pulled out a stethoscope to listen to Thomas' heartbeat.

The pair spoke about Lester until the appointment was over. Lily helped James check the IV levels and Thomas' vitals. Thomas was bruising on ninety percent of his body but that didn't stop the bald child from bouncing enthusiastically. Lily ordered a few extra tests and made Thomas promise to try and eat some of the dinner that would be brought later by a nurse.

When the check up was over, Tomas' mother shook James' hand and thanked him generously.

"Tommy is hoping you'll be here tomorrow."

James laughed awkwardly, "Eh," he looked at Lily, who looked on with quirked eyebrows as Mrs. Burns kept her hands laced in James' hands, "We'll see, I normally work in surgeries."

"Well," Tommy's mother said with a tiny frown, "Hopefully we'll never have to see you there."

"Bye, Mrs. Burns." Lily offered before pulling James back away from Thomas' curtained room, "you did really well with Tommy."

"You think?"

"You're a natural with kids," she sighed, "Mrs. Burns liked you too, she shook your hands way longer than she's ever shook mine."

James ruffled his hair and stared at her endearingly, "don't go getting jealous, Evans."

"Potter," she said back, knocking her shoulder against his.

James stopped right outside her door and smiled down at her as she stood her ground. Her green eyes weren't blinking as she stared him down, trying to be serious. James had the strongest urge to kiss her now but knew that was definitely not professional.

In order to break the tension he whispered, "why would Tommy go to surgery?"

"Bone marrow transplant." Lily whispered back sourly. "We just haven't found a donor."

Lily turned to enter her office and James almost followed but he decided to take a walk instead. He went out to the waiting room here a few parents were sleeping or playing with their kids. One little girl was sitting in front of the television, squinting at the screen. James walked over to her, hands shoved in his pockets. The girl looked up when he towered over him.

"What'cha watching?" he asked her nicely, noting she had a cap covering her head and a pale tinge to her skin.

" _Moana_." The little girl hiccupped nervously.

"What?"

The little girl looked at him like he had three heads.

"You've never seen _Moana_?" She asked in shock.

"Is it good?" He fell cross-legged next to the little girl, aware a few of the parents in the waiting room stared as he did so.

"Good?" she scoffed, "It's the _best_. _Moana_ is my favorite, way better than _Frozen_. You'd like Maui."

"Which one is Maui?" James glanced at the tellie to see a cartoon chicken eating a rock, "The chicken?"

The little girl giggled and shook her head, "No!!" She coughed a bit before saying, "Maui is a demigod."

"Are you saying I'm god-like?" James pressed a hand to his heart and the little girl giggled again.

"No!" She was in fits now, James never had a girl laugh so hard (ever) at his jokes and even if it was a child…he had a massive ego boost by her chortles. "You've got tattoos like him, so you're Maui!"

James glanced down at his arms, not realizing he'd pushed his sleeves up. Indeed, his right and left forearms were covered in tattoos. Hospital code required that he left them covered but in the room with Thomas, James must've pushed his sleeves up without thinking. He was surprised Lily hadn't said anything but now he wondered if that's why she'd been staring. James tried pushing the sleeves down but the little girl's fingers got in the way as she inspected the stars, moons, and animals littering his arms.

"I like this one!" She announced, pointing at a large colored stag. "It's my favorite!"

"It's my favorite too, Cassie."

James' head whipped around and he caught the impish look of Dr. Lily Evans watching him play with the little girl. James flushed and stood up, pushing his glasses up his nose. The little girl, Cassie, stood up too so that she could run to Lily. James watched as Lily tore her eyes from James and knelt down to hug the little girl warmly. Lily's red hair was falling from the braids atop her head, framing her full face attractively.

"You're supposed to be in bed," Lily reminded the little girl firmly.

"I was lonely." Cassie complained as Lily tapped her tiny nose with a finger, "And Mrs. Marley said she brought _Moana_."

" _Moana_ can be played on the tellie in your bed." Lily said to the little girl, "run back to bed now, before your mum gets back from lunch."

Cassie turned to look at James with big baby blue eyes, "come play with me?"

James leaned on his knees and told Cassie sincerely, "I think you should take a nap, you look tired."

Lily spoke to Cassie confidently, "go back to bed Cass or no movies before lights out."

Cassie did as she was told, but not before waving goodbye to James, "bye Dr. Maui!"

Cassie disappeared behind a curtain close to the waiting room. Her bare feet were purple as she walked away. James wondered if she was suffering from the same afflictions as Thomas. When he looked over he noted Lily was still staring at him. Self consciously, James lowered his sleeves and just missed the look of disappointment cross Lily's vivacious face.

"Come see me in my office Mr. Potter?" She asked cordially.

James rolled his eyes but followed her to into her office, only surprised when Lily closed the door behind him. She crossed her arms and turned sharply so that his back hit against the closed door. His eyebrows shot into his hairline as he considered how hot she looked in the darker lighting of the office. He forced himself to clear his throat and look away from her blazing eyes.

"You are really good with the kids." She said, earning his attentiveness.

"They're practically foreign to me." James reasoned, "I had no idea what I was doing."

"You had Cassie eating out of your hand." Lily snorted, "Even Thomas' mum was drooling, tattoos and all."

James thought he heard a hint of jealousy in Lily's voice but dismissed it. James watched as her eyes flickered down to his arms. James swallowed and nervously tried to reach up to run a hand through his hair uneasily.

"Don't do that," Lily snapped unexpectedly when his fingers touched his hairline and his hand dropped.

"What?" he asked in surprise.

"That _thing_ you do with your hair," she said in aggravation, "don't do it."

"Sorry." He huffed, kicking the floor like a kid.

"No, I'm sorry for snapping."

Lily sighed, making him look at her again and his heart almost dropped to his stomach when he saw that her eyes had turned soft again. She took a precarious step forward, like a timely dance, one that James was all too willing to oblige to. His eyes searched hers and he licked his lips. He realized she had taken her coat off at some point, leaving little to the imagination when it came to her curves.

"I have to tell you something," she whispered allegedly, "I thought you were attractive the minute I met you."

"I don't quite understand?" He swallowed deeply as his eyes stared at her slightly pouted lips.

"You're too bloody charming for your own good." She said, "I mean _really_ , you had me from the minute I saw you in the coffee shop months ago, ruffling your _stupid_ hair when you smiled my way while studying. Wearing those endearing as fuck glasses that looked right out of some old fashioned film."

James couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth. He considered grabbing her shoulders and turning her so her back was flat against the door, but he considered that was a lot of work when her lips were already inches from his own.

Lily said cockily, flirting on her toes, "And then I just watched you be _amazing_ with my kids and _damn_ , if you didn't go from 20 on the attractive scale to 100, in ten hot seconds. Then I saw those tattoos. I mean, fuck the Hospital tattoo policy—"

James placed a hand under her chin and lifted her lips to his; only barely aware that they were working and snogging her probably wasn't professionally accepted, no matter how much she was complimenting him. Lily deepened the kiss instantly, pulling his lips with her teeth and humming favorably. It wasn't until her buzz against his lips that James woke up from his daze and ripped away from her hurriedly.

"Shit, _sorry_ , that was totally unprofessional."

"I'm asking you out, idiot," Lily placed her mouth back on his.

James pulled away to grin, "odd way to ask a bloke out, snogging him at work."

"Shut up," she muttered, bringing him back in and sweeping all his arguments away with her tongue.

They only stopped kissing because Lily had more patients to attend too. It was hard to focus on anything but her the rest of the shadowing. James got off work before Lily and so he waited by Lily's office at the end of night, surprising her with a smile and some flowers from the Hospital gift shop.

They barely made it to his flat fully dressed.

James couldn't believe the sharp turn his life had taken with Lily. They'd gone from barely speaking to sighing each other's names all night long. Sirius had a shit ton to say about their dealings the next morning and Lily told him to fuck off over her buttered toast and eggs. In that moment, James was certain he'd never want to date another person in his entire life.

The next morning James put in the official request to switch from shadowing surgery to shadowing pediatrics. Dr. Moody practically murdered him, and Frank called James a traitor but with Lily Evans in the mind James couldn't give a damn. Lily had to drive home over her weekend and James was unable to celebrate that the switch was made official on Friday afternoon. James' schedule now had him tailing Dr. Evans and Dr. Snape in the Pediatric ward for the next six months.

At 6:45 on Sunday morning James stood outside the hospital's pediatric ward with a Caramel Macchiato. He knew he would memorize the look on Lily's face when she appeared around the corner; it was as joyous as a child on Christmas. Lily threw her arms around James' shoulders excitedly and he almost spilled her drink. James snickered and wrapped one arm around her as she buried her face into his chest.

"I was hoping you'd change your mind." She confessed.

"You happen to be _very_ persuasive."

James recalled just _how_ convincing she'd been while under the sheets in his bedroom. By her quirked eyebrow and pensive grin, he knew she was recalling the same daydream. James wondered if switching area's was such a good idea, since he couldn't quite get her feisty look out of his mind and her hands off his body but he'd worry about that much later…when her fingers weren't scratching cheekily through his hair and her hips weren't thrust into his dangerously.

She looked up at him favorably, "I'll miss running into you at the coffee shop," she leaned on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek before taking her caramel macchiato from his all too willing hand, "But I have to admit, this arrangement is _much_ better."


End file.
